The former Celta do Vigo man scored in the 4-0 victory over their League One opponents, and the Anfield boss was satisfied with the skills the Spaniard put on show.

"Iago works hard; he's got a trick in and around the box and he excites supporters,'' Rodgers said.

"He's a good guy and he works very hard for the supporters.

"He drifts well in between the lines and always wants to receive the ball but what I like is that he wants to score goals.

"He's looking to create and combine or go solo by himself and get a shot in. His goal was a terrific strike.''

Others to debut for the Reds included former Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, ex-Manchester City man Kolo Toure and Luis Alberto - formerly of Sevilla - with all performing admirably in the red shirt.

"Mignolet was very confident and very composed. He had a great day today," Rodgers said.

"Everything he did, he did it well. And he's already integrated really well and I thought he was solid.

"Toure is a very experienced professional. He's been around for a long time and he's a wonderful player. He's got great experience and he defends really well.

"Alberto fits into the mould of what we're looking to do here. We want technically gifted players who work hard and some of his touches were fantastic. He's incisive with his passing and so I'm very pleased with him.''